A Story Named Love
by labyrinth of chaos
Summary: Sometimes one has to work really hard to make love happen, sometimes it just falls into place.  Regardless, a love story usually starts with a boy and girl.  Kaiba x Kisara
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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At exactly 9:53 pm, when the moon has risen 16 degrees from the horizon, and the temperature was sitting at 8 degrees Celsius, 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit, Seto Kaiba was exactly 31 hours into his weekly marathon work routine. He took a sip from his cup of ginseng tea, something he recently switched to after his usual choice of Ethiopian coffee caused him elevated levels of irritability and anxiety. The doctor who diagnosed his addiction was promptly fired. In exactly seven minutes, the flat screen HD TV disguised as a Monet will automatically switch on, programmed to broadcast the morning news from the US.

As interesting as his rigid weekly routine is, this story is not about his monotonous choice of lifestyle. This story is about a few wonderful coincidences, a lot of drama and very little duel monsters.

Because at that same time, 9:53 pm elsewhere in Domino City, a girl got off a train, a suitcase in one hand, and a map in the other. She blew a strand of her wispy light blue hair out of her face as she walked down the platform her eyes wide absorbing all of the sights around her.

It's always hard to say where love starts. Sometimes it's in the spur of the moment, sometimes it is a work of art 5000 years in the making, but usually it starts with a boy and girl.

... ... ... ... ...

They met exactly 27 days later at 9:53 am, under a normal and slightly boring circumstance. Seto Kaiba who celebrated his first month since quitting coffee, got out of his limousine five minutes earlier in front of the Kaiba Corp Tower. Celebrating, in the context is heavily loaded with sarcasm. The coffee withdrawal was the icing on top of a large pile of unwanted annoyances. Mokuba had run off with his friends for a thoughtless trip to Europe, and only bothered to let his brother know seven minutes ago, five hours into his trip.

He really wanted coffee, so he reasoned to himself that one cup could not possibly bring an onset of addiction; after all it wasn't like cigarettes or cocaine. However since his switch to ginseng tea, all coffee products had been removed from his top floor so that there would be no temptations. He had to get coffee in the prestigious cafe on the first floor. When I say prestigious I meant one small cup of coffee was equivalent to an hour of minimum wage.

Usually Seto Kaiba dedicated one act of charity every month. As he stood in line for coffee instead of the usual "I own everything so I have ultimate line cutting power", he checked off that box. However when he finally made it to the front of the line, two minutes later, the girl whose name was Maiko had just reached her break time. Instead of getting the much desired coffee, Kaiba had to wait a further one minute for the aggravating girl to get replaced by some else, another girl who was clearly late, judging by the amount bowing of apologies that was going around.

"What can I get for you sir?" the girl said with a bright smile, adjusting the apron that she hastily tied on. The minute hand struck the fifty third minute.

Kaiba glared at the girl, something about her was uncomfortably familiar, though he couldn't recall what exactly that was. "I want a triple shot of Sidamo, black."

The girl nodded as she carefully wrote it down, feeling the hair on the nape of her neck spike at the hostility in her customer's glare. "Can I recommend our daily freshly baked raspberry tart?"

"No."

The girl bit her lip and forced herself to smile, "Ok that will be 653 Yen."

As per standard procedure, she left her till and went to make the coffee. It was her 9th day on the job, and she had learned to expect stressed employees as early as 8:00 am. This young man must be a new intern and possibly his boss has been giving him a hard time. After poorly speculating the circumstance, she would resolve to make the coffee to the best of her abilities. 30 seconds later, Kaiba took the paper cup straight from the girl's hand to his mouth.

Kaiba slammed the cup down, his eyes narrowed unpleasantly. "I asked for Sidamo coffee, this taste like instant coffee from the convenience store."

The girl's warm smile waned slightly as she looked at the cup. "I can assure you sir that I did not miss that, but I will make another one."

She turned around robotically and made her way back to the coffee machine, determined to get the order right. She was allowed to deny customers this service, if the waiting line was long, but oddly there was no one else in line. She shrugged off the curiosity and remade the coffee.

Seto Kaiba on the other hand had been scrutinizing the girl very carefully. He knew he had seen her somewhere before as he racked voluminous data in his head for the faint source of recollection.

"I hope this one is to your liking sir," the girl said with another smile, placing the coffee in front of him.

Kaiba took the coffee wordlessly. He didn't bother to taste it. Instead he swept around and started to walk away. He had wasted too much time already and there were far more important issues piling up on his unattended desk.

"Wait sir! You didn't pay!" the girl called after him slightly frantically.

This last comment was like the single neutron as it struck into a radioactive Uranium atom causing the end of WWII.

THe polished loafers of Seto Kaiba stopped as he turned around sharply. "How long have you worked here?" he asked deceptively calm.

The girl could feel the dread slowly filling her stomach, "I just started a week ago," she answered timidly.

"I see, well here's a piece of advice for your soon-to-be next job; take 20 seconds out of your pointless life and learn the name and face of the owner."

At 10:00 am, there were 63 couples in Japan that ended their relationship, 103 lovers sealed a final vow of marriage, and 276 kisses were shared.

... ... ... ... ...

Some people believe that when the stars in the sky make an arbitrary pattern, then star crossed lovers will find each other. Some people believe that it is a collection of choices that determines the end result. I don't know. But I do know that this love story started with a boy and girl.

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A/N: Yay Romance and drama, I wanted to write something cute and sweet. =D Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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At exactly 10:27 am one day later, a man by the name of Matsuda Nobuo stumbled in his speech, losing his entire train of thought. He was the senior vice president of one of the biggest insurance companies in Japan. He has a year-end bonus of two million USD, a wife of 34 years, two children and one grandchild. He was also mentally picturing the amount sweat that was gathering on the back of his neck, surely enough to fill a 250 ml cup.

What made this man with over 40 years of experience in presentation stumble was that the drumming stopped abruptly. He was no rookie when it came to intimidation tactics. The board rooms he had been in with the blank, unyielding faces of people who can destroy your life at the snap of a finger, has been more numerous than the grey hairs on his head. But this one, this one was different.

Seto Kaiba had started drumming on the Italian marble table with his fingers, two minutes into Matsuda's presentation. Matsuda Nobuo had almost smiled at that kind of textbook scare tactic. The boy was smart surely, but still a tender green leaf in the harsh business world. Tapping on the table was so cliché. He went on his presentation, feeding off the intimidation, becoming more confident in his speech. Not even the relentless stare from the boy fazed him. The drumming became a kind of quiet rhythm.

Then it just ended. He found himself half way in his sentence, gapping like a gold fish, but no words came out. He snuck a glance across the room. Seto Kaiba clearly found the ceiling more interesting than his 5 year, 2 billion dollar conglomerate proposal aimed to raise $500 million apiece in revenues. Tried as he did to pull his sentence together and press on, his presentation fell apart and lost all momentum. He still had another half an hour to go.

The board room was 82 feet long, 59 feet wide, approximately the size of a standard school swimming pool, situated on the 73 floor of the Kaiba Corp Tower. The interior decorations totalled $3 million dollars. However at that particular time, walking from one end of the room to the other would be approximately equivalent to the distance of traveling from the light side to the dark side on the moon. To put things into perspective, the bright side of the moon is 107 degrees and the dark side is -153 degrees. That is a temperature difference of 260 degrees Celsius.

Seto Kaiba drummed the table mainly to help himself think. If in the process some below par presenter felt unnecessary pressure, then that was just a bonus. The presentation was good. They were almost always good. As the CEO of a multimillion dollar business, good has become synonymous with meaningless. Something is good, because it doesn't not make you feel unpleasant, yet it does not rouse any words in your mind to describe it beyond - good. Seto Kaiba had decided approximately 5 minutes into the presentation that it was only good. From that point on, only 5% of his attention remained on the man in front of him, the rest were spend tackling other issues on his never ending list of things-to-do.

At 10:27 am, the 0.003% of his brain, still stuck on the mystery of the girl downstairs, efficiently sorted through over 20 terabytes of information and found the elusive memory. It was so absurd, that the rest of the operations in his mind came to a grinding halt, including the drumming on the table.

The memory had been elusive because it had been marked as highly dangerous and to be placed in a nearly inaccessible corner of his brain; a 3 year old memory of a trip to Egypt that he should have never taken. Yes, he recalled precisely where he had seen that particular girl. It was so ridiculous, and illogical, Kaiba could only compare it to what it would be like if he took a lethal dose of opium and landed in Wonderland. In Wonderland, she was the dead girlfriend of a 5000 year old priest who vaguely resembled him.

Kaiba allowed for two minutes entertaining himself with the idea of Yugi and gang's reaction if they saw this girl, and the ridiculous conclusions that would automatically jump in their heads. As if that useless girl, who couldn't even make a decent coffee, had any chance of ever crossing paths with him, let along starting any sort of romantic interests.

And he would be right, if that conclusion had been for any of the 3 billion other girls living in this world.

... ... ... ... ...

At 10:27 am, a sweating aging man was desperately praying for the clock to move faster. Across Domino city, on the crowded subway train number 47, heading east to the Domino City Square, a girl with light blue hair prayed for time to be slower. Only one of these prayers was answered; the girl took a double take when she spotted a short tri-colour haired boy, standing a little further down from where she was. She squeezed her way over.

"Um hi," the girl started timidly tapping the shorter boy on the shoulder.

The boy looked around mildly surprised, "Oh, hello."

"A-are you by any chance Yugi Motou? My little brother is a big fan," she continued, her face flushing slightly pink by her own brashness.

Yugi smiled back warmly, "That's me. Have we met before?" he asked.

"I don't think so?" she replied, "I was wondering, if you could autograph something so I could give it to my brother? Um here, I have a pen and paper," she said hurriedly, and rummaged through her purse.

Yugi signed the paper obligingly. "Do you play duel monsters, Kisara?" he asked good-naturedly.

The girl flushed, "N-no. I never really got into it. Wait, how do you know my name?"

Yugi looked up surprised, "So your name IS Kisara? I-I mean I just ... um felt that you looked like a Kisara and it accidentally slipped out."

Kisara did not look very convinced but kept her doubt to a suspicious glare.

"A-anyways, here's the autograph. Wait, there's something else," Yugi continued.

Kisara looked on dubiously. A small part of her was starting to doubt her zealous choice of asking for an autograph.

Yugi's eye widen slightly, "It all makes sense now. You know this morning when I left my house, I had a strong feeling that I should bring this card with me. Now I'm positive it was meant for you."

The girl looked at him hesitantly, "Um I'm not sure what you're talking about," she mumbled uncomfortably.

Yugi reached into his pocket and took out a duel monster card, one that had been carefully taped together. "It's my grandfather's Blue Eyes White Dragon. It's symbol of the unbreakable bond between people. I think this card has always been meant for you."

Kisara looked at the torn card, confused. "I'm really sorry I bothered you Motou-san, but isn't this a little too much? I couldn't possibly accept it, nor do I have any use for it either. I told you, I didn't play duel monsters."

Yugi smiled patiently. "I know this seems a little weird. But of the hundreds and thousands of cards in duel monsters this one has the deepest connection with you."

Kisara stilled did not look convinced as she stared silently at the card in the shorter boy's hand.

Yugi sighed, "Look my stop is coming up soon. If you take this card, I think it will bring you good luck. If nothing happens, you can always return it to me. It's not exactly hard to find where I live. Come on, I 'm not offering you drugs or something. Take a small leap of faith."

Kisara took the card. "Um thanks."

Yugi smiled as the subway rumbled to stop. "No problem. I'll see you around!" he shouted waving his hand as he left.

Kisara stared at the picture of the blue eyes white dragon. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, 3000 attack and 2500 defence. Well Blue Eyes, I will believe in you if I don't get fired today." She sighed and put the card into her coat pocket. It must have been the motion of the train, but out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the dragon moved.

... ... ... ... ...

Lovers often start off, clueless of each other. Trying to predict who it could be in the massive sea of faces is like wishing upon on all the stars in sky, not knowing which one is watching over you. But even when all the pieces fall into place, and the road is laid out for them, if they walk too fast or too slow, they'll still miss each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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At exactly 11:32 the same day, Kisara entered The Kaiba Corp building. She was determined to be early today, so she arrived 14 minutes before her shift. At the edge of her conscience, guilt gnawed at her nerves over the fact that she failed to inform her manager regarding the incident with a certain young man. At 11:32, the line at the Cafe was starting to build up. Kisara made her way to the staff area, where her manager dragged to the side. "I'm so glad that you are here early Kisara-chan. We're so swamped! I need you to take this trolley to Floor 73 and set everything on the table with the white table cloth. Then stand behind it and serve the drinks to the people in the board room. Come back when everyone leaves the meeting."

Kisara nodded hurriedly as she wrapped a white apron around her waist. She took the heavy trolley and pushed it through the bustling lobby. The elevator took 30.15 seconds to reach the 73rd floor. 73 was the smallest number on the panel of five buttons in the elevator. The elevator door slid open silently and Kisara knew she had entered a different world.

The air was different, fresh yet two degrees cooler with the faintest hint of mint. The silence was unbearable. The rustle of her clothes, her soft footsteps on the marble floor, everything seemed loud and harsh. She inhaled deeply to clear her mind. Find the table with the white table cloth. To her dismay, she found four tables; three at one end, and one at the other.

Kisara hovered in front of the elevator feeling the tension building inside of her. She peered left and then right, trying to make up her mind, but the silence and emptiness made it seem impossible to move from the neutral spot she stood on. Of course that was not all that she was dreading. Deep down in her wildly beating heart, she knew that she should have rejected the task when it required her to go to the 73rd floor, because the 73rd floor was conspicuously close to the 78th floor. People in the Kaiba Corp. Tower all knew the 78th floor as the dragon's den and stories that surround its existence is nothing short of mythical. The elevator door behind her slid open. Kisara jumped so violently, she almost knocked over the tall jar of water on her trolley.

"What are you doing standing around?" the secretary snapped as she stepped out of the elevator. She was tall, thin woman in her late 50s, whose hair was wrapped so tightly in a bun that it could have been glued to her head. "I hate new people. Go set up over there and look useful."

Kisara breathed a sigh of relief as she hurried her trolley to the correct table. She barely laid out all the refreshments when the door opposite of her opened and serious business people in very expensive suits stepped out. They talked to each other in light relaxing tones, standing together in small groups. A few came over for a cup of coffee or water and Kisara served them with a plain but forgetful smile. When she got the chance, she swept a glance across the room, and sure enough her eyes fell on the arrogant man in the corner. He was standing aloofly listening to the banter of two other men, both who must have been twice his age. She averted her gaze, feeling beads of sweat forming at her temple.

However her singular distress was overshadowed by the pleasant exchanges of small talk. She focused on serving the drinks, avoiding eye contact with anyone, and wishing that she could blend into the background. After nine minutes of this, her neck started to become sore from looking down so much.

At 11:53 am, Kisara felt her heart stop. It wasn't the I-met-a-cute-boy-and-he-took-my-breath-away kind of nice, heart stop. It was more close to a send-me-to-a-hospital-I'm-dying kind of heart stop.

Kisara slowly looked up, dreading the confrontation that was about to happen. Tried as she did, her lips would not form a smile.

Seto Kaiba couldn't recall precisely when he developed his signature glare. Mokuba used to joke that he was born with it; probably not far off from the truth. It just came naturally to him, that impassive, deliberate stare.

He noticed the girl immediately. It was kind of hard to miss her distinctive light blue hair, tried as she might have to blend in with the wall. He had small urge to humiliate her in front of everyone, but as all business people know, causing a scene is immature, and unprofessional. He waited until all of his associates left, telling his secretary, that he was grabbing a cup of water, and will met them shortly downstairs.

She was working very hard on keeping her eyes fixed on the table in front of her. In fact it took her a whole ten seconds to realise that he had been standing there, waiting silently.

"Who am I?" Kaiba asked, there was no trace of amusement to be found on his smooth, pale face. Deep down, he found watching lowly people squirm in presence of his superiority to be childishly amusing.

The girl whose eyes connected with his for a split second returned to the table. As appropriate, she was trembling with fear. She struggled with silent words before replying, "You are Seto Kaiba, the CEO and President of Kaiba Corp.," she answered, still avoiding the piercing gaze.

The corner of Seto's lip twitched just slightly. "And whose opinion has the most value in this building?"

Kisara felt the sweat on her neck, turn cold, "That would be yours," she replied weakly.

"So if I explicitly fired you yesterday, then there should be no reason you are here today."

Kisara looked up sharply, her eyes wide and her hand clutching tightly on her apron, "Please, I won't make another mistake with the coffee, and I corrected my ignorance. Please give me a second chance."

Seto Kaiba poured himself a glass of water, slowly and deliberately. When he put the pitcher down, he looked at the girl one last time, "That wasn't a question. I will send the security guards to escort you out if you don't remove yourself in the next minute."

Kisara stared blankly, her mouth open unflatteringly, as the CEO held out his hand inviting her towards the elevator. Her three weeks of barista training just got flushed down the toilet. She crumpled up her apron and followed the CEO to the elevator, wondering how in the world she was going to last another 30.15 seconds in a closed claustrophobic box with the man who just fired her. In Seto Kaiba's mind, he had already closed the door on the weird incident with the girl. He could no longer spare any more brain cells on this uncalled for, slightly distracting coincidence.

So as the elevator door closed, Kaiba prematurely file away this memory into the far recess of his mind. Most people would be offended, if they knew the person they were standing next to in the elevator had shunted their existence to a nearly inaccessible area of the sub conscious. Kisara was hoping for nothing less. She stood at the physically farthest place away from the other person, glaring at her own reflection in the mirror. As she stared at her own reflection, she made a promise to herself, that for as long as she lives, she will never step into this building ever again.

At 12:02 pm, 9 time zones from the Greenwich median, several things happened. An old lady found a box that contained her childhood memories and it brought tears to her eyes. A stray cat was nearly run over by a careless driver. A man named Hidameki Takeru had a water bottle filled with sake, his "elixir" that he accidentally dropped while standing in one of the arenas on the ground floor of Kaiba Corp. Usually this would have gone to the custodians, who will mop up the mess, but chance would have it, the liquid spilled into a pile of wires, and short circuited the entire stadium. That wasn't the worst part, because Kaiba Corp had their own backup generator in case of power failure to protect all of their precious technology. No, after Hidameki Takeru snuck away from the smoking wires, the stray sparks turned to a lovely flame. The evacuation siren blared into life as hundreds of people flooded out of the building.

Back in a small elevator suspended between floor 69 and 68 in the air, the lights turned off as the elevator screeched to a halt, plunging the two occupants into perfect darkness.

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Most love stories don't have exaggerated coincidences like these. But, in my defence, Seto Kaiba does not believe in preordained destiny, so playing with ironic humor is rather amusing. If he was real, and I was God writing his life, I might very well be dragged down from heaven by his advanced technology and killed slowly and painfully. Anyhow, fate or just unlucky coincidences, I'm just the narrator telling just another love story.

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A/N: THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWSSSSSSSSSS! Feed me more~


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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At exactly 12:07 pm, Seto Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly in the total darkness. He wasn't unduly worried as he pulled out his phone and dialled for his chief bodyguard.

"What is going on?" he barked, letting the annoyance seep into the phone.

"Sir, there was a power failure and a fire at the same time. The backup generator will be up in ten minutes. Where are you exactly, we need to evacuate immediately."

A fire and a power failure? Kaiba's eyebrows contracted more. "I'm in a pitch dark elevator, and when I step out in ten minutes, and you don't have every single person combing this city for the culprit you can kiss your job goodbye."

There was a pause on the other line, "But sir, shouldn't we come and get you first?"

"There's no need, tell the people on B8 that for every second that this elevator arrives outside of the 10 minute range, I will add that to the floor number they will jump off of."

There was no need for a reply, Seto Kaiba terminated the call. He wasn't unduly worried about the fire, after all, his building was made of concrete and steel, nothing flammable here. The problem was that someone was setting arson to his company, which could very likely be a ploy of one of his less intelligent competitors, or terrorists. The probability that the fire happened coincidentally at the precise same time as the power failure is miniscule to none. In the best case of the terrorist, Kaiba Corp could get a substantial government funding.

While Kaiba idly thought about his current situation, Kisara was trying to breathe as quietly as possible. She knew there was nothing that she could contribute to the current situation that will get her out of the elevator faster. Leaning against the wall of the elevator, she wondered vaguely if other girls would kill her to be in this awkward position with a bachelor millionaire. Her brother probably would launch into a deep conversation about duel monsters.

She sighed and put her hands into her pocket in defeat.

"OUCH!"

Kaiba flashed his cell phone screen onto the girl beside him, whom he completely forgot was in the elevator with him. She was nursing her finger tenderly, while the other hand held onto a duel monsters card.

"I'm not going to sign your card," he said flatly.

Kisara groaned. Seto Kaiba has officially won the title of most conceited person in the world. "I cut my finger on this card," she said quickly. The cell phone light disappeared and silence filled the small claustrophobic box.

Kisara stared at the card in her hand, or at least what she thought was the general direction of it. It was impossible to see anything in total darkness. This is possibly the worst day of her life, right up there with the day her mom abandoned her family. She thought back to how just a couple hours ago, Yugi Motou had made such a brave and marvelous prediction that this mangled piece of paper was destined for her. At the rate she was going, she might be dead or in the ER of the hospital by the time the sun sets. She felt the bitter resentment wallow up in side of her.

"You know, Yugi Motou gave me this card this morning. He said it was destined for me and that it'll bring me good luck." Kisara muttered, unsure why she vented out loud to a person that didn't have feelings, and couldn't relate to warm blooded creatures even if his life depended on it. "What's so great about this ripped Blue Eyes White Dragon anyways?"

The cell phone light flashed in her direction again, but this time it was on the card that she was holding. Kaiba was genuinely surprised that Yugi had given his "precious grandpa card" to a total stranger. Apparently there's no limit to how much Yugi will believe in his hocus pocus magic tricks. He stared at the card that he had ripped so viciously. It felt like a long, long time ago, but really it had only been 4 years 3months 25 days. He could get more specific, but that's a waste of energy. Then he felt a nerve twang, something was different, "It's not ripped," he said, his throat oddly dry. The girl looked up at him, then back at the card.

Carefully, Kisara pulled the tape pieces off the card, one at a time. Four pieces of crumpled tape lay on the elevator floor. "Why would he tape it then?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Because it was ripped; I ripped it."

Kisara looked up, just as the light came back to life. For the briefest of moments, she saw his composure slide, as he stared intensely at the card. For .23 second, Kisara thought she saw a flicker of guilt, gone as soon as the lights returned and he tore his gaze away. In an instant he had settled back into his aloof sneer. Kisara bit her lips, as she felt the elevator finish it's 30.15 descent to the ground floor. "Do you want this card?" she asked, feeling guilty that for that .23 second, she had seen something that she wasn't supposed to see.

"Hmph, why would I want something I've already destroyed? Get lost, I don't ever want to see you or the card again."

The door clicked opened with a polite 'Ding', and Kaiba stepped out into the crowded lobby.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

At 12:25, Kisara stepped out of Kaiba Corp. and breathed a deep sigh of relief. There was no unnecessary reason to have to see that unpleasant person ever again. Two ill-chanced meetings in two days, was more than enough for a life time. Her phone rang as she skipped down the streets, glad of the freedom that she had been dreading that same morning.

"Moshi Mosh," she chirped.

"Hey, it's me, the plane will arrive tomorrow at 12:46 pm, so can you pick me up around 1:30?"

"Of course Shin-chan, I'll be waiting for you, get back safely!"

"Thanks, love you sis."

At that same time, Seto Kaiba waited until the limousine was cruising at 70 mph, before dialling the first person on his very short list of contacts. The phone rang four times before the click sound of the lines connecting was heard.

"Hey Nii-san... uh, did you get my message? I'm in England right now."

"I know where you are Mokuba. I'm cutting your trip short; there's someone after Kaiba Corp who has set fire to our building. I want you home on the first plane back. Someone's been arranged to pick you up in ten minutes."

And so this is how fate generally works. What happens once never happens a second time. But what happens twice, will always happen a third time.

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A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I rewrote it twice. IS anyone interested in bloopers? Alternate realities that could be, but never where?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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When a person grows up, the sharp lines that defines their life so often becomes blurred, even losing its shape, leaving the person in a mass of greyish blobs of confusing values and morality. Mokuba never felt this way more clearly in his young 16 years then the moment he sat bored in the airport, waiting for his flight back to Japan.

It wasn't like it suddenly hit him like a lightning strike in the middle of a clear day, no, it had been accumulating in his sub conscious since before duelist kingdom; an endless swarm of doubt about his brother. When he was younger everything was very clear. He loved Seto the most, and Seto loved him the most. Seto loved him so much, that he had sacrificed everything to give him a life of luxury and ease. He had sacrificed his childhood, his innocence, his morality and all the blood and tears his body could afford.

That's the story the media so often paints the Kaiba brothers, in fact many of his fans worship this story as the absolute undeniable truth. Mokuba used to think this way too. The reality is far less glamorous, and perhaps that's why it wasn't so easy to understand when one was young. He was an important part of Seto's life, but Seto loved a lot of other things. Seto loved challenges, he hated idleness above all. His obsession with games stemmed from his brain's need for activity. When he had won all the games to be won, he moved on to building the leading technological breakthroughs, pioneering the latest gaming systems all for the purpose of satisfying the hunger in his brain. Seto also loved winning, the reason that drives his ambitions. For the longest time, Mokuba blamed Seto's ambition on Gozaboru, but he would be lying to himself. Seto Kaiba has always been ambitious. How many orphaned little kids could blackmail a millionaire into adopting him and his little brother? Mokuba rubbed his brows, remembering the time when he younger, and more naive, how he had hated that side of Seto, the power hungry monster that shadowed his otherwise loving and caring nii-sama.

Now it only exasperates him.

Mokuba picked up his duffle bag, and handed the flight attendant his ticket, first class as always. He had fully wanted to get away from Domino City and his brother, before the start of school. He had few friends who lived in London, and invited him over but the sudden phone call cut his trip really short.

Seto was far from perfect. It was a rude wake up call when Mokuba finally came to terms with it. Mokuba settled into the comfortable seat, glaring out into the foggy Heathrow Airport. Seto was easily paranoid, self absorbed and probably could not name a single live person whom he felt any form of mutual understanding and respect. It wasn't really that Mokuba wanted to rebel against his older brother, that was far too childish for him, but sometimes he ached to be free of the storm of oppressing atmosphere that trailed Seto Kaiba and lingered in every corner of his house.

"Ah excuse me, but that is my seat over there. I got bumped up since the plane was too full."

Mokuba looked up; glad that the person he was sharing a row did not have any obvious annoyances. He was probably close to his own age. "Go ahead," he replied politely, making space for the other person to squeeze by. "Are you returning to Japan?"

The other boy smiled, "Yeah, summer vacation is almost over right? I can't wait to be back. My name is Shin by the way."

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At exactly 1:24pm Kisara stood outside terminal 3 of Narita International Airport, known to the locals of Japan as Tokyo Narita. Her brother's flight had arrived on time, and check out should not be taking long. She was more worried about how she was going to tell him, that once again, they have no source of income.

Her worries were quickly displaced, when she saw the smiling face of her brother stepping out of the terminal, alive and well.

"Shin-chan! I'm so glad you've arrived safely!" she said cheerily, rushing to give her brother a warm embrace.

"Thanks Kisara-chan, guess what I made a friend on the plane, do you mind if he comes over for a bit?"

Kisara smiled at the boy with the mass of dark hair, hanging back politely. At that moment, she didn't worry about their dwindling reserve of money, or the rent that had to be paid in two weeks. She smiled lovingly, "Of course. Any friend is welcome to our place!"

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The door bell rang only once.

"Hold on a minute!" rang a cheery voice, there were the sound of scrambling feet as someone approached the door. The door cracked open, and the cheeriness vanished, "Are you stalking me?"

"Are you kidnapping my brother?"

"No, do you need your psychiatrist?"

Kaiba chose to ignore that comment, instead he looked passed her shoulder into the room beyond to where a certain little brother was sitting in, playing video games. "Mokuba, we are leaving right now."

Mokuba looked up, he paused for a moment, but he had never seen his brother as livid as he was at that moment. Though Kaiba looked calm to the rest of the world, Mokuba knew better, his eyes were more narrow than usual, his lips tighter, the strain in his neck was clearly a sign that he was trying very hard to keep his emotions under control. He sighed and stood up. "Coming," he replied dejectedly, placing the play station controller down. "I'll see you at school then?" he said as he put on his coat, and headed for the door.

"Yeah, can't wait," Shin replied with a smile.

Kisara smiled too, "It must be tough having him as your brother. You can come over anytime you like Mokuba-kun."

Seto's scowl intensified, "Mokuba, you are forbidden from coming here ever again."

Kisara looked up sharply, "Excuse me?"

"I wasn't talking to you. Now excuse us, we're leaving."

"Wait! You forgot something Mokuba," Kisara said abruptly, as she dashed back into the house. She returned just under a minute with a neatly wrapped lunch box. "I'm sure it doesn't taste as good as you're parent's cooking, but I'm willing to bet it's better than your brother's!"

Mokuba smiled sadly, "Thanks Kisara, have a good night."

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The Kaiba brother's sat in the car in silence.

It was not a pleasant silence; at least, it was not a pleasant silence for Mokuba. It had never felt clearer that Seto was indifferent to his inner turmoil, then in the maelstrom of the silence.

And then without any trigger, the suppressed feelings exploded.

"Why am I forbidden from seeing my friend ever again?" Mokuba asked loudly.

Seto scowled, but he willed patience into his voice, "Because I said so. Now drop this topic Mokuba."

The slant of Mokuba's mouth could have been carved into stone. "That's not a reason, Nii-sa-ma," he pressed on, stressing sarcastically the honourable way he had so often referred to his older brother when he was younger.

In Seto's mind, the storm of responses flashed before his eyes. He could raise his voice a decibel higher, and end this conversation. He could decrease his voice a decibel lower, and remind Mokuba who he was arguing with. He could reason with his brother, he could act offended, he could blame it on the stress, he could blame it on a thousand things. In 0.72 seconds, his brain came up with a million retorts. But he found himself unable to say a single one of them.

Mokuba was wrong about one thing. Seto notices everything. He felt the hostility the moment the door closed on Room 323, and it came from his brother, even though his brother followed him without the slightest protest. This wasn't the only time. As Mokuba grew up, and started spending more and more time with friends, doing normal teenage stuff, their relationship started to crack.

It drove him insane. He couldn't think rationally about this issue, and thus he couldn't rationally deduct the right thing to say. Instead he buried himself in work, and thus the absence of Mokuba in his life became less noticeable.

Seto had always thought that this was just a phase Mokuba went through, a phase he had never experienced since he sacrificed all of it for money and power. At first he was reluctant to give Mokuba more freedom, but he admonished himself and relented. Mokuba was happy, and to Seto that was the end of that matter.

Reality is never so simple. Instead of mending the cracks, he had simply put a copious amount of tape over it, pretending that nothing was wrong. It was moments like this, that the tape would peel away, and Seto was lost for an answer.

"What are you trying to say Mokuba?" he asked finally, but it was more of statement then a question.

"I'm not a child anymore. I can take care of myself. I don't want you breathing down my neck, telling me who I can be friends with, and not get a single reason."

Seto pressed the Viacom button. "Fine, you want to be with your idiotic friends, don't let me be the reason that keeps you away. Driver, turn this car around."

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At 11:53, a cool smile of the moon was barely discernable from the sea of light on the ground. Kisara sat in her favourite chair beside the window trying to forget the unpleasant meeting, and trying even harder not to think about the future ahead. She listened to the sound of her brother's guitar strumming quietly in the confines of his own room, he was playing Scarborough Fair.

When the doorbell rang, she was silently glad for the distraction, because she couldn't stand the sorrow in the song. "hello?" she asked cranking the door ajar. A sullen Mokuba stood in the doorway.

"Hey, sorry to be back, but I was wondering if I could stay the night?"

Kisara stared at him blankly. The she opened her door wider, and peered around the deserted hallway for hidden signs of life. "Did you have a fight with your brother?"

"Kind of, no- that's exactly what happened."

Kisara leaned against the door frame and stared long and hard at the teenager in front of her. "You can stay here as long as you like," she said with a smile. "Come on in."

But before Mokuba could take a step inside, several astonishing things happened. A huge light burst from the side pocket of Kisara's coat, hanging beside the door, and it consumed the room and raced out the window. Then a muffled sound of explosion rang through the air, rattling the frame of the building. Without a word, both Kisara and Mokuba dashed down the stairs as fast as their feet could carry them.

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Seto Kaiba had never believed in God. In the usual course of his life, he made every conscious effort to avoid using the word God in his vocabulary. But the moment he realized that the collision between his Lincoln town car and the oncoming truck was inevitable, he felt the unbearable presence of God watching him, laughing at him, testing the resolve of his soul one too many times. There have always been misfortunes in his life, but none so well lined up as the ones that have happened in recent days.

"Fuck you." He muttered right before his sight was blinded by a brilliant light, and then total darkness.

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In 1927, Arthur Eddington coined the term "The Arrow of Time", it refers to how the world only travel forward, and time may never be reversed. Every moment, every second is never the same, and never will be. Love is a little bit like that too.

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A/N: I'm done exams! Yay! I actually really like this story, so there's going to be more chapters, but sometimes I need to be in the mood to write, or else the words don't flow right. Sigh, amateur writers, tsk tsk. Anyways, thanks for reading, I'll put up bloopers at the end, or when I have enough. =)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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He had been counting his heartbeat for quite a while. 5673, 5674... It pounded rhythmically, 60 beats per minute like clockwork. He had been counting for 94 minutes and 34 seconds. He wanted to stop, every time he tried to pull his thoughts away from his steady heart beat, pain shot through his cranium. He went back to counting.

Although he had been conscious for a while, he didn't really want to wake up either. It was one of those moments where you're alarm rings in the morning, but you just shut it off and roll right back to sleep, muttering "5 more minutes" to no one in particular. Ha, not that he would know what that was like. Sleeping in was a luxury of the idle teenagers. He smirked to himself for a few minutes.

At exactly 2:23am, the world came into focus once again. He stared across the room; he was obviously in a hospital, which confirmed the suspicion that something was wrong with him. The room was dark, there were no light that filtered between the blinds, a strong indication that the sun is on the other side of the planet. There were monitors that ticked away, mapping his heart beat one spike at a time. He almost didn't want to look down, but he chided himself for being ridiculous. His left arm was bandaged, so was his right foot, most likely broken, fractured at best. He couldn't see underneath his hospital robe. So it was some kind of accident. He sighed in relief. Honestly it could have been a lot worse, amputation, disease, some kind of unknown virus, or cancer. His brain felt pleasantly satisfied by the new discovery of his condition, and spent a few minutes buzzing happily. He shook his head. Something was wrong. Seto Kaiba's brain does not spend time to just buzz around happily. It was a lethal information crunching machine, the super computer of all super computers. If Einstein had use of all 5% of his brain, Seto Kaiba was at least at 4.99%.

The door in his peripheral vision opened, and a doctor stepped in. "Oh you're awake so soon, this is good news. Now lets do some basic recognition tests. Say Ah."

Seto obeyed the doctor, though the slight irritation at everything being meticulously explained to him started to creep into his brows. After five minutes of the annoyance, the doctor proclaimed him to be at least stable as the doctor ticked off boxes on his checklist. "By the way, you have a visitor, we usually don't let them stay this late, but since this is a private suite, we made an exception for you."

The doctor stuck his head outside the door, "He's awake, you can come in now."

"He's awake? Are you sure? Maybe I should come back in the morning? I don't really think he needs to see anyone...I mean..."

The more protest that drifted to Seto's ears, the more it annoyed him. Who was this girl that waited for him for so long, and now that he was awake, refused to see him?

"It's up to you," the doctor said, "But it's best that you come in right now. I haven't tested him for memory impairment. It is a good opportunity to test his cognitive functions. But I'll give you a few minutes alone."

"I...alright."

Seto Kaiba glared at the door way as the girl timidly walked in.

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Kisara did not know what to say as she stepped into the sterilized room. Despite being heavily bandaged, Seto Kaiba still managed to glare at her in a condescending fashion. "Um, h-hey," she said lamely, "I know I'm not the number one person you want to see right now, but Mokuba-kun asked me to stay up and wait with you...so that's why, and besides he cried for three hours...and he was really emotionally exhausted and...and..."

She trailed off, not able to coherently sort through the word vomit that she spouted.

"Kisara stop babbling."

Kisara held her tongue, though she wasn't sure if she should breathe a sigh of relief or cringe at the fact that Kaiba remember who she was.

"Who is Mokuba?"

Kisara felt her heart crack. She had just spent three hours consoling the younger brother, who had broke down, cried and blamed himself for everything. He said over and over again, that if he hadn't been childish, they would've gone home and everything would be ok. It was only until after sheer exhaustion took over, did he fall asleep. One of Kaiba's bodyguards took him home.

"He's your brother," she whispered, unable to shake the dread that was collecting in her stomach.

Kaiba smiled, "This isn't really the time for jokes, Kisara. I could be suffering from brain damage. I don't have a brother."

Kisara bit her lip so hard, she tasted blood. There was no need for a doctor or a psychologist to point out that something was really wrong with Seto Kaiba. She felt sick, and there was absolutely nothing she could do for either of the Kaiba brothers. One more question.

"Kaiba-san, how did we meet?"

Seto snorted, but then looked her straight in the eye. "We met on March 26, at 9:53am in the lobby of the Kaiba Corp. Tower. You made me an abysmal coffee, and then proceed to charge me for it-"

Kisara cringed, surprised at how terrifying this man's memory could be at the irrelevant details, even getting it down to the minute.

"But actually," he continued, "We meet circa 5000 years ago, on the street of Egypt where you were being harassed by the villagers. I saved your life, but I suppose that doesn't count, since it was another life time."

Kisara's lips parted slightly in shock. The CEO of Kaiba Corp, a multibillion dollar corporation just proclaimed that they had met in another life time, 5000 years ago, and in Egypt to top it off. _And _he saved her.

Seto Kaiba looked at her steadily. There was no doubt in his eyes that he believed every word he spoke. "I know, I didn't believe it when I first found out too," he said understandingly as if her inability to accept that fact was the real problem here. "But it's all true."

Kisara forced a smile. "I think you must be really tired. It's better to get some sleep."

Seto nodded, "Wait, will you come see me tomorrow?"

Kisara froze, her mouth struggled to form words, "Uh...S-sure."

Seto Kaiba closed his eyes, "Great. Good night Kisara."

Kisara closed the door to the hospital room. She leaned against it heavily, and felt her legs give away, as she slid down to a crouch. There were seven floor tiles from where she was to the wall opposite of her. The door behind her bore the number 615. She had never imagined that her emotions would be so massively conflicted over a man she had only met three times, all under unpleasant circumstances, all leaving her wishing to never see him again. Now here she was, making promises to visit him in the morning.

She took out the blue eyes white dragon card. Is this what Yugi had meant, that it was destined for her?

"Miss? Are you ok?"

Kisara stood up, though her knees shook. "I'm fine," she said forcing a smile towards the nurse. "I'm going home now." Best to get some rest, she was going to need all her energy tomorrow.

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A/N: A special thanks to all the readers! I love you all!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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At exactly 7:09am, Mokuba was sitting in a Lincoln town car in complete stillness. His translucent reflection in the window stared back at him. He could see the puffiness under his eyes, his skin still felt stiff from the numerous tears that had dried upon it. He had to be brave; the text message from Kisara was short. His brother was in stable condition, but there were complications. As the bodyguard pulled the sleek black car into the drive way of the Domino General Hospital, Mokuba felt all the courage desert him. He couldn't even will his legs to move, as he sat there breathing as if he had just ran a marathon.

"Mokuba?"

He looked up in time to see Kisara wrap her arms around his shoulder. She smelled like soap, gentle and soft. "It's going to be ok. Come on, you're brother is waiting."

He nodded wordlessly, as she took him by the hand, and led him to the door. He followed her like a little child, infinitely glad that there was a warm hand to hold his.

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Kisara didn't have the courage to tell him about the selective amnesia. She comforted herself by repeating the words the doctor had said to her last night that amnesia was common in victims of car accidents, and they usually regain their memory relatively soon. She held on tightly to Mokuba's hand, partially to keep him strong, partially to keep herself from shaking.

As they neared the room, a small crowd of elderly men dressed in suits blocked the entrance. Their voices could be heard clearly in the hallways.

"He's obviously in no condition to sign over guardianship, we must abide by the legal procedures."

"What if we get his brother to sign for him?"

"Mokuba? Don't be ridiculous, he's still a minor."

"So you propose we do nothing? This company is not going to run itself."

"If you're going to plot to overthrow me, at least demonstrate minimal competence, and do it where I can't hear you," a cross voice echoed loudly from the doorway, causing the entire group of elderly men to flinch. They quickly made their way into the room, without noticing Kisara or the younger Kaiba brother, tiptoeing behind.

The two stayed hidden behind the door, where only a crack was open for them to peer through. Behind that their view was blocked by a wall of suits, turned away from them, but they could hear clearly.

"Kaiba-sama, we heard from the doctors, that you might be suffering from a high degree of mental erm... shock. Additionally, with your current state, it's best to focus on getting back to a hundred percent as fast as possible. We're fully prepared to give you as much time as you need to recover."

"I don't know what the doctors said, but there is nothing wrong with my brain, I happen to remember quiet a lot of mindless details about your lives. And if my memory does not fail me, I believe we're in the middle of our North American expansion and we're trying to settle the capital funding issue, am I correct?"

There was only a sullen nod.

"But sir, the doctor said you don't even remember your own brother," one of the executive voiced quietly. Kisara felt the boy beside her freeze.

"This is ridiculous," Kisara held her breath, bracing for the reaction to come, "Of all the things I might have forgotten, you chose Mokuba. Your talking is causing me more brain trauma than the accident. I will send Mokuba as my representative to all future meetings, and all final decisions must be approved by me. Now get out."

Kisara breathed a sigh a relief, just as the line of silent suits came out the door. They stopped abruptly at the sight of the younger Kaiba, "Oh, Mokuba-kun, I didn't see you there. You're brother looks like he is well on his way to recovery," said the leading man, in a rather sour voice.

Mokuba nodded, unable to say anything. Kisara gripped his hand harder and Mokuba opened his lips, "Thank you Harimoto-san."

"By the way Mokuba, since your brother is an invalid, who will you be staying with? You are a minor and you need guardianship. I'm asking because I would love to have you over, my kids are about your age," Harimoto continued, not missing a beat, but the sly glance to the slightly ajar door gave away his intentions.

Mokuba shirked away slightly, "I-I'm sixteen. I don't need guardianship for the next month, besides, Kisara-chan who is a good friend of the family volunteered to look after me for the next while. You don't need to worry." Kisara rolled her eyes. A Kaiba can always be counted on to make decisions on the spot without consulting anyone else's opinion.

Harimoto's lips curled slightly, giving Kisara the once over, as if noticing her for the first time. "Very well Mokuba, we'll be seeing you at the meeting on Monday. Nine o'clock sharp."

Without another word, the group left. Mokuba turned away quickly, and rushed into the hospital room. "Nii-san! I'm so sorry!" he sobbed, burying his face into the chest of his brother. Kisara waited by the door, smiling slightly at the touching reunion, infinitely glad that Kaiba miraculously regained his lost memories. The older Kaiba, patted the head of the younger one lovingly.

"I'm going to be okay, and you can stop apologizing. It's not your fault a tired truck driver almost ran me over." Mokuba continued to sob, oblivious to Seto's words. As he continued to comfort his younger brother, Seto's eyes connected with the girl standing respectfully by the door, his glare wiped the smile off her face, and she stood a little straighter.

"And why exactly are you here?"

Kisara grinded her teeth, but chided herself to be patient, "I'm here, Kaiba-san, because last night when you were on the brink of insanity, you asked me very politely to come see you in the morning."

Seto's composure slid slightly, as he racked his brain for that recollection, finally he muttered, "That's ridiculous, and Mokuba you're not staying with her. I will arrange the bodyguards to have custody."

Mokuba looked up, his eyes wide. "But Kisara-chan saved your life."

Kisara looked as stunned as Kaiba, as they both stared at the younger boy in silence.

"Nii-san, you know the driver Moritaka-san died, in fact, the doctors said it's a miracle that you're alive and that you'll make a full recovery."

Kaiba forced a smile, "That's because I'm a lot more stubborn than most people when it comes to living. Now stop this Mokuba."

Mokuba frowned and pressed on, ignoring the pleading pat on his head, "You know when Kisara-chan and I arrived at the wreckage, the blue eyes white dragon was hovering over you. I thought it must have been yours, but I remembered you didn't have you cards with you. Later Kisara-chan explained that Yugi-kun had given her the one he had. Doesn't it make sense that it's the safest place to be with Kisara right now?"

Kisara desperately wished she could disappear at that moment. The intensity of the annoyance oozing out of the invalid Seto Kaiba was enough to choke all the oxygen out of the luxurious hospital room. She could've sworn the window plants started to wilt.

"Mokuba," The elder Kaiba seethed, his voice strained, then he relaxed and laid back down in his bed, "Fine, but she's staying at our house, where there's surveillance and I will instruct Rowland to do a thorough background check, and have daily reports on her actions. And she's not allowed to touch the coffee machine. If she agrees to these terms, then I have no complaint."

Mokuba smiled encouragingly at the girl by the door, who was trying to pretend to be a speck of dust. "What do you say Kisara-chan?"

Kisara forced a wide smile, unable to spoil the happiness in the tired eyes of the younger brother. "That's really wonderful. Hey um Mokuba-kun, do you mind if I talk to your brother really quickly for a bit? In private?"

Mokuba nodded and stood up, "I'm going to buy a coffee, I'll be back soon nii-san!"

As soon as the younger brother was out of ear shot, Kisara descended on the elder one. "Are you crazy? I'm not moving into your house and I refused to be followed!"

Seto's eyes narrowed slightly, "Do you know how many girls knock at my door each week, begging to volunteer to clean my house? I don't think you're in a situation to refuse. Besides last time I checked, you're unemployed."

"Is this your idea of what persuasion looks like? That explains a lot actually. I think I prefer your delirious self better. At least he was nice to me even though he spouted some nonsense about meeting before in Egypt."

Kisara was watching carefully out of the corner of her eyes when she dropped the Egypt bomb. For a second, Kaiba's pupils dilated.

"Don't tell you forgot, you said those things not even six hours ago. Remember?" Kisara pressed on with a small smile of satisfaction, as the CEO's expression darkened. "It's fine. I attributed the crazy talk to your state of mental deficiency. You're secret is safe with me."

Kaiba's lips thinned. "If you don't want the job, you're under no obligation to accept, but I doubt Mokuba will take no for answer and I don't want to argue with him, so let me just add this one condition. If you do not accept, I will guarantee that I will do everything in my power to prevent you from finding employment in Domino City."

The color drained out of Kisara's face, as she glared at the unsmiling man. "A-are you threatening me?"

"Yes I am, so it's in your best interest to stop being annoying."

Kisara closed her mouth and turned around so that Kaiba would not have the satisfaction to see her fume and struggle with herself. After taking several forced deep breathes she turned back, "Fine. But my brother gets to move in, and I will not be followed. Take it or leave it."

Kaiba almost grinned. Almost. "Fine. Come back tonight at 9pm, I'll have the contract of employment drawn up for you to sign."

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A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! So I've been busy this entire last month, because [Unnecessary spoiler alert into author's boring life] I was going through recruiting season, and I have a job starting next year at an accounting firm! Yeah, in real life, I'm studying accounting. Uh so sad.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I love each and every one of you who reads this story, including those of you who just add this story to their story alert. That makes me really happy too. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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At exactly 8:49pm, Kisara stepped out of the elevator onto the sixth floor of the Domino General Hospital. There was only one tired nurse monitoring the front desk, of which Kisara politely checked herself in. In the cheap plastic bag hanging off her left arm, was a freshly packed bento, something that she reluctantly made only at the insistence of Shin, who said that she needed to bring a peace offering. Flowers were outside of the budget.

She sighed as she made her way down the long stretch of hallway. Seto Kaiba-san needed a corner room in order to maximize the sun light that gets blocked by heavy curtains. A nervous nurse passed the other way; she had just come out of the last door in the hall. Kisara gave her sympathetic smile, though she dreaded the possibly awake CEO. The nurse did not smile back. Kisara frowned at the cold attitude, and glanced over her shoulder as the nurse shuffled by. Kisara casted her glance away unsure of the slight itch that was gnawing at her senses. She looked back one more time. The nurse had burst into a jog, slamming open the door at the end of the hallway and disappeared down the stairs. Kisara stopped. It was not just her feet that had frozen in its step; her heart seemed to miss a beat too. She was suddenly aware of the cold sweat forming on the back of her neck far before her brain registered the fear that was jammed in her throat. The plastic bag fell lifelessly to the ground as she bolted the other way towards the last room in the hall.

The door was slightly ajar. Kisara breathlessly slammed it open. The patient looked as if he was in a peaceful sleep. The heart monitor was still spiking, though at irregular intervals. She dashed to the elder Kaiba's side and tore out the IV in his exposed arm. On a closer examination, his veins were turning black.

She reached for the telephone and dialled the front desk.

40 seconds later, two doctors and three nurses burst into the room panting. "What's the matter?" they asked urgently, checking the vitality signs in the unconscious patient.

Kisara willed her wildly beating heart to calm down. "There's poison in the IV drip. There was a nurse in here, before I came in, but she ran away."

The doctors took the IV bag wordlessly, as the nurses wheeled the bed with unconscious Kaiba out into the hall way.

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There was no moon tonight, only the faint outline of dark angry clouds. Kisara drained her fourth cup of coffee as she sat exhausted in the waiting room. This was the second time she had to wait up in the hospital for this man. She vaguely wondered who would attempt to kill the young CEO in the state hospital.

After five hours the doctors pronounced him to be stable. The poison was extracted from a King Cobra, one of the deadliest venoms in the world. Luckily they had an antidote on hand, something that a large hospital had the good fortune of having.

At 1:53am Kisara was allowed to see the older Kaiba.

She walked into the hospital room, unsure what to say.

Seto Kaiba looked up at her as she walked in. He was frowning. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."

Kisara stared blankly kept her mouth shut.

"You said you would come this morning," he continued, the slight hurt was evident in his voice. He fell silent at the lack of a response from her.

Kisara watched him suspiciously, finally she broke the silence, "I was here this morning, with Mokuba, and you asked me to move in with you."

Kaiba laughed, "Another joke Kisara? I was asleep this whole day. I didn't wake up until just now. I apologize if you did visit, was I sleep talking?"

Kisara pursed her lips, wondering what she should do. The situation was getting more and more perplexing. Either he had selective amnesia that turned on and off at irregular intervals, or he was suffering from a severe case of multiple-personality disorder. She took comfort that both would require intensive psychological therapy, and her presence would therefore be unwanted. She pulled up a chair and sat down beside him. "Do you remember the nurse who was in here a while ago? She had short dark green hair, and brown eyes."

He shook his head, "I just woke up."

"Do you remember anything?"

"Not since last night."

Kisara frowned and leaned back on the chair, "Last time you mentioned meeting in Egypt, what was that all about?"

Kaiba stared at her, "You don't remember anything? My name was Seth. You gave your life trying to save me."

Kisara bit her tongue by accident.

Kaiba had the decency to look embarrassed, "I guess it doesn't mean anything if you don't remember, it was another life time ago. You probably think I'm crazy."

The girl with the light blue hair decided to take a little gamble, "No I don't think you're crazy. Tell me more."

And for the 30 minutes that the elder Kaiba was allowed a visitor, he unfolded the story of their past, including the how he found out in the present, and as much detail as he could remember in between. He told this without his heart monitor ever registering any elevated spiking, nor did his pupil dilate, nor did he fidget unconsciously.

Kisara smiled at the end, the right mixture of supportive and calm to cover her growing concern for her ex-future boss' mental competency. "That's quite a story. You need to get some rest," she said soothingly.

"Goodnight Kisara."

The nurse shooed her out, but the 20 year old did not leave the hospital. Instead she curled up on the bench outside his room, and with one eye open, she sat there until the morning.

The next day, it was her brother who saw her first. With a large coffee in hand, he sat down beside her curled form. "You just had to give him the bento, no one said you had to stay the night," Shin commented off-handedly, trying to cover his annoyance.

Kisara's head drooped onto his shoulder, "Uh, you have no idea, some nurse tried to poison him last night."

"Yeah, but ane-ue, you're not responsible for his life. Well at least his bodyguards are here. I think we can go now," but even as he said those words, Kisara had already fallen into a dreamless sleep.

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At 10:46am, she felt herself being jolted awake. It was the kind of shock that a person experience when they think they are falling in their sleep. The sudden disorientation caused her to sit up the jacket that had covered her, was flung to the side.

She sat there panting slightly as the events of last night rushed back into her brain, and her eyes snapped the around the room to absorb her situation. The room was dark, the heavy blinds drawn over the morning sun. But even in the dimness, so could make out the two brilliantly blue eyes fixed on her, like that of a hungry wolf, who had found an easy meal.

She adverted her gaze immediately, and started to stumble towards the door.

Two pairs steely hands grabbed her shoulder on each side, and forced her back into her sitting position on the sofa. She looked up to see the faces of Kaiba Corp's burly bodyguards stare at her indifferently. "Have a seat," they said in unison, though it was kind of pointless since she didn't have much of a choice.

She continued to avoid the steely eyes from the sitting figure on the reclining bed, directly opposite that were drilling holes into her forehead. "What do you want?" she croaked.

A mirthless laugh filled the air. "I think you know exactly what I want."

"No," she replied honestly.

"I was almost murdered last night, and conveniently you happened to walk by and...I'm sorry what happened again?"

Kisara felt increasingly suspicious that this interrogation was loaded and not in her favor. "I saw a nurse bolt out of your room," she replied, another honest answer.

"And how did you know that she wasn't just off to save a patient?"

Kisara squirmed, "It didn't feel right ok? What's your problem? I saved your life."

"How did you know it was the IV?"

"Your veins were turning black, and your heart monitor was spiking like crazy. It's kind of obvious."

Seto Kaiba smiled. But it was one of those artificial smiles the kind that said 'I'm smiling but that's because I'm about to gut you for all your worthless lies'.

He held up a beige folder. "Now if you were a normal 20 year old, unemployed, high school educated, low end of the work force, I would probably give you the benefit of the doubt, and more or less be inclined to believe that's what happened-"

Kisara sat stiffly, her eyes stuck on the beige folder in his hands, her insides swarming in fear of the 'but' that was coming. The older Kaiba flipped the folder open and started to browse it casually.

"But, you're not a normal 20 year are you, Kisara?"

Kisara could only watch helplessly in silence, as she waited in fear of the contents that Kaiba was about to use against her.

"My top private detective took a dive into your past, four criminal records and two months of volunteer service? You moved from Tokyo, where you were a known member of a violent gang..." Kaiba looked at her in disdain there was no amusement in his eyes, "Who the hell are you working for? Which one of my asshole competitors hired you?"

Kisara balked, "I don't believe this. I just saved your life."

The click of a safety hatch being turned off answered her, as she felt the cold barrel of a gun pointed to her temple. The CEO looked at her in slight boredom, "I'm honestly not too interested in the answer, so you better cut to the truth before I get bored with your pointless chatter."

"I don't know what you want me to say. If you have my life in front of you then you'll know that my mother abandoned my family when I was twelve, my father hanged himself four years after. I was in a gang, but it was just a street gang, it wasn't the yakusa or anything. My criminal records were all petty street fights, and I've never stolen anything or killed anyone in my life and it was all before I turned 17. I took care of Shin-chan by myself, so we wouldn't get sent to a stupid foster home. We were getting by pretty well cause I used to work two shifts every day as a waitress, but the stupid government workers found us, and I moved to Domino City to escape them."

"Try harder, I'm not convinced."

Kisara threw her arms up in exaggeration, "I give up. I don't know what answer you're looking for but if I wanted to kill you, I had a lot of great chances before. Why would I wait, until you get hit by a truck, and pretend to come visit you, and while no one is looking poison you, and seeing that I failed, wait outside this entire bloody night so that no murderers were coming back?"

Kaiba watched her through narrowed eyes.

Kisara crossed her arm. "I officially hate you. I hate you and your stupid and weird personality disorder."

"I don't have a personality disorder."

It was Kisara's turn to smile ironically, "Really? You don't remember your weird confession last night about our 5000 year old meeting in Egypt, where I gave my life to save you?"

Kaiba looked as if he was going to vehemently refute her statement. Instead he turned away and tossed the folder to her. "Fine. I just wanted to see how you would react under pressure. I have already reviewed the camera footage from last night; I know you didn't do it. My private detective didn't waste that much time looking into your life either, but he did confirm you came from Tokyo three months ago with a criminal history, and had been working in the Kaiba tower for a month. That's all that's written in there. You're contract is in there too."

Kisara opened the folder, and flipped through the four pages that could have been printed off the government website. She groaned, shocked at her own stupidity for being tricked into revealing more than she was comfortable with. The gun was put away, and she fell sideways onto the couch. "You're not going to stay right? It's kind of exposed at this hospital."

"Don't point out the obvious. I'm being relocated to my house, which you are permitted to move in as of tonight. Roland will bring the car over at 6:00pm."

Kisara, "Oh, um thanks. And I take back what I said about hating you. I don't _really_ hate you."

"You should be thankful and I don't care if you hate me or not. Just do your job. Now get out."

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Sometimes love is not found is wild passionate declarations, but in the little bits of learning and understanding of other people's lives. Sometimes love starts in those little gaps we let others leave their presence. Sometimes love is showing a little acceptance for those parts of ourselves we fear will never find acceptance. Sometimes love just is.

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A/N: I'm not dead! But this is a likely trend that's going to continue, where I pretend to be dead for a while, before I post a new chapter...

Note: ane-ue = respectful term for older sister, according to Gintama subtitles. If you don't know what Gintama is, you're missing out.

Thanks for all the Reviews! You guys really keep me motivated!


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